Folkestone Artworks
3rd May 2019
In Spring 2019 Folkestone Artworks, the UK’s largest urban outdoor contemporary art exhibition, expanded with the inclusion of 15 public installations. The latest additions – originally commissioned for Folkestone Triennial 2017 – build upon the breadth of Folkestone Artworks, which is free and permanently accessible across the town and harbour.
Artworks are located in both prominent and unexpected spaces, some of which have been repurposed from disused and neglected sites, inviting communities to reflect upon the future shape of the town, and more widely, the changing international landscape. Now comprising 45 artworks, some in multiple locations, by internationally renowned artists, the newest offering to the exhibition is The Ledge by established British artist and Royal Academician Bill Woodrow.
Bill Woodrow’s sculpture The Ledge brings to the fore the artist’s ongoing preoccupation with climate change and its global impact. Installed on Folkestone’s Lower Leas Coastal Promenade, the pure white steel sculpture depicts an Inuit figure and its ecological counterpart, the seal, standing on a thin layer of ice. Gesturing towards the impending threats facing indigenous Arctic communities, their livelihoods and hunting cultures, the sculpture sits on a black, pool-like platform that directly references oil spillages. Mirroring the white cliffs which border Folkestone, The Ledge displays a crystalline modernist architectural composition.
Commenting on the work, Alastair Upton, Chief Executive of Creative Folkestone, says:
Bill’s piece reflects many of the local current concerns such as climate change and erosion. We are very happy that it has finally come to Folkestone as a permanent addition to the town’s landscape.
Other artworks include those by Amalia Pica, Antony Gormley, Bob and Roberta Smith, David Shrigley, Gary Woodley, Jonathan Wright, Lubaina Himid, Marc Schmitz and Dolgor Ser-Od, Michael Craig-Martin, Richard Woods, Rigo 23, Sina Tantra, Sol Calero and Studio Ben Allen.
During Spring and Summer 2019, a full programme of talks, tours and workshops will be provided, along with new artworks’ signage, a map and brochure including recommended walks, and a Folkestone Artworks Visitor Centre at The Clearing. In line with these changes, the independent arts charity Creative Foundation has been relaunched as Creative Folkestone, promoting a strengthened and unified vision across all its activities.
Image: The Ledge, Bill Woodrow, 2018, part of Folkestone Artworks, commissioned by Creative Folkestone. Photo by Manuel Vason.